Saving Santa Maddalena, Saving the Slave

By John Szabo, MS

Pure, pine-scented alpine air and bright sunlight greets me on a warm July afternoon as I step off the train in Bolzano. Or should I say Bozen? You see, everything up here in this northern frontier land between Italy and Austria has two names, the modern Italian one – Bolzano – created after this former Austro-Hungarian territory was annexed by Italy at the close of the Great War in 1919, and the more ancient Tirolese one – Bozen – a German dialect still spoken by the majority of inhabitants. 

The region in which Bozen/Bolzano is located is still known as Südtirol (South Tyrol) to the Tirolese population, while for those further south on the Italian Peninsula, it became known as Alto Adige, the Upper Adige, not far from the source of the mighty River of the same name that winds its way out of the Alps and down past Verona to the Adriatic Sea.

This dual personality makes the region unique in Italy, a status legally recognized by several agreements and treatises signed by Austria and Italy over the last century. Both Italian and German are official languages, and German-language education is permitted (and for extra historical spice, Ladin, a Rhaeto-Romanic language that’s spoken by about 3% of the population is also officially recognized; it’s the oldest language in the region, a mixture of Roman and Rhaetian dialects that evolved after Rome’s conquest of this Alpine region in 15 BC). Südtirol/Alto Adige was also accorded an unparalleled degree of autonomy within the Italian Republic, and in 1992, Italy and Austria signed a final release in New York, which declared all territorial-linguistic disputes closed.

On the Slave Route

But I’m not here on a linguistic pilgrimage to former Habsburg territories. Rather, I’m on a search for one of the oldest native red grape varieties in South Tyrol, and the delightfully lively, alpine red wines it produces on the steep hills to the northeast of Bolzano. The variety’s Tirolese name is vernatsch, derived from the Latin “vernaculus” meaning “native”. It’s known to have been cultivated here since at least the 16th century, though undoubtedly much longer that that – written records expressing praise for the wines of Bozen stretch back to the Middle Ages when wine estates belonged mainly to South Austrian monasteries and the nobility.

In Italian it goes by the decidedly less charming name ‘schiava”, meaning slave, a reference, as I’m told by local growers, to the fact the variety has always been grown up another plant, usually a tree, as a support, or, more recently, tall wooden stakes in the typical pergola trellising system, a slave to it, as it were. Still today, the majority of vernatsch/schiava is cultivated on pergolas.

Losing Ground

Vernatsch/schiava grows throughout Südtirol/Alto Adige (wine labels are invariably bilingual, with Tirolese first), and was once the most planted variety of any colour, but its fortunes are fading. In the year 2000, 59% of the region’s vineyards were planted to red grapes, and schiava was the leader with just under 2000 hectares, about 40% of the total surface area of 5700 hectares. Just a decade later, schiava had plummeted to under 1000 hectares, or 18% of the area under vine.

Today the numbers are even more depressing: just 467ha remain, 8% of total vineyard surface (data from the Consorzio Vini Alto Adige). And the rate at which schiava is losing ground has accelerated alarmingly: nearly 100 hectares were pulled up in the last year alone.

So why are growers ripping out this historic variety? The answer I learned, unsurprisingly, is simple economics. Schiava sells for between about 1.5 euros and 3 euros per kilo, far below what a grower can get for, say pinot nero or sauvignon blanc. Further complicating the situation, most of the existing schiava is planted on pergolas, which requires more manual labour than modern vineyards with low-trellised rows and guyot pruning, where tractors can be used to do pretty much everything. And in a region that is dominated by large cooperatives supplied by grape growers, higher production costs for lower selling price spells doom for the grape.

Schiava: A Red for the Zeitgeist

The paradox is that the style of wine that schiava is best suited to produce – pale, light, zesty-spicy reds – is gaining hugely in popularity. Wine drinkers the world over are moving towards lower alcohol, more vibrant, chillable reds. And this is precisely what schiava does best. If you fall into this preference category, buy some schiava today to save the variety from becoming an historic footnote.

There are four main denominations for vernatsch/schiava that all fall under the blanket DOC Südtiroler/Südtirol/Alto Adige (plus straight up Vernatcsh Südtirol/Südtiroler/Schiava Alto Adige). These are: Kalterersee/Kalterer/Lago di Caldarno or Caldaro, Meraner/Meraner Hügel/Meranese o Meranese di Collina, a small part of Vinschgau/Valle Venosta, and Sankt Magdalener/Santa Maddalena (with my apologies for all of the slashes!).

Santa Maddalena

Of these, the most historically significant area of cultivation for schiava and its finest wines is by far Santa Maddelena in the province of Bolzano. And within the Santa Maddelena DOC, the steep, and occasionally terraced vineyards on the north side above the Eisack/Isarco River, east of Bolzano, and within the communes of St. Justina, St. Peter, Leitach and Kosten, as well as Santa Maddalena, itself are entitled to produce Santa Maddalena Classico. This is the original heartland of production, in the same spirit as Soave Classico, Valpolicella Classico and Chianti Classico are the most historic production zones of those denominations.

Santa Maddalena Classico features some of the oldest and sunniest wine-growing sites in South Tyrol, encompassing some 160 hectares in total, a tiny 3% drop in the South Tyrolian bucket. In contrast to the rest of the region, the vast majority of vineyards are in the hands of a few small family wine growers – about two dozen; few are the cooperative bottlings of Santa Maddalena Classico. And almost all are old vines on pergolas, with some vineyards approaching the century mark.

Schiava thrives here in the temperate inner-alpine continental climate of the Bolzano valley, which is unintuitively one of the sunniest places in Italy with some 300 days of sunshine per year. And summertime temperates in the lower part of the valley are often equal to those in Palermo, Sicily, 10 degrees of latitude to the south.

But the hot and dry days are crucially tempered by pleasantly cool nights, chilled by air draining out of the Alps, which ensures the preservation of schiava’s racy acids. The finest vineyards are found mainly on the middle and upper slopes, planted on weathered volcanic porphyry rocks with their vibrant purple-red tinge. 

Schiava must represent at least 85% of a blend, though more frequently it’s closer to 95%, with a splash of another native red grape, lagrein, added for colour and body.

On that July afternoon, I sat down with several producers to taste through a range of Santa Maddalena Classico provided by the Consorzio. The quality across the board was genuinely excellent, wines of perfume and finesse, elegance and vibrancy. Santa Maddalena, and schiava, are well worth saving. I urge you to join the movement.

Buyer’s Guide: Ten Top Santa Maddalena Classico

95 Franz Gojer – Glögglhof Vigna Rondell St. Magdalener Classico (Riserva) 2022
Vigna Rondell is the top bottling at the Glögglhof estate, but 2022 saw this additional limited ‘riserva’ produced from a selection of old vines, with the smallest bunches and berries, harvested before the rest (the term Riserva was not legally allowed in this vintage, but that’s effectively what it is). It was fermented with 50% whole bunches and aged only in cement. It’s quite special, with such a lovely nose, spicy and exotic, with cinnamon and dried flowers, such a broad range of aromas/flavours without recourse to extraneous oak influence. The structure on the palate is exceptional, fine and firm, but structured all the same, with excellent length and depth. A revelatory example, top of the heap. Tasted July 2024.

94 Franz Gojer – Glögglhof Vigna Rondell St. Magdalener Classico 2023
The Gögglhof Winery is a small family-run business with impressive vineyard holdings in the Santa Maddalena DOC, on a hillside above Bolzano. Third generation Florian Gojer is already heavily involved in the estate’s day-to-day activity. Vigna Rondell is the top bottling at the estate, made from the oldest vines on a terraced south-east facing, moraine slope lower down on the St. Magdalener Hill, with well-aerated, easily heated sandy soils laced with granite and quartzite stones; it’s the first vineyard to be harvested each year. Traditional pergola training is employed with 5000 vines per hectare.  10% whole bunch is retained for the vinification of a range of schiava biotypes (at least 5), with ageing in large, old casks. The nose of this 2023 is lovely, perfumed and elegant, floral and succulent, also delicate but not light, with exotic notes of caraway and cumin.  The palate offers such lovely texture and drive, and tannins are near perfect, silky, offering little resistance. Great length. Drink or hold into the early ’30s. Tasted July 2024.

93 Rottensteiner Premstallerhof St. Magdalener Classico 2023
From purchased grapes biodynamically farmed by the Vogei family (also Rottensteiner’s Swiss importers, not coincidentally) this premium, single maso (estate) at up to 450m elevation features schiava co-planted with about 7% lagrein grown on granitic, porphyry- sandy soils and aged in large oak cask and cement vats. The 2023 offers lovely aromatics, spicy and bloody, with blood orange, tart red fruit, wild strawberry, red currant, pomegranate and more in a complex expression. But it’s really the sapidity and salinity that drives the wine forward on the palate, yielding a beautifully elegant, complex, and attention-holding wine with great palate presence and length. I love the silky texture, the soft tannins and ripe acids, the finesse and precision, delivering terrific freshness. A stunner, and terrific value. Tasted July 2024.

93 Kandlerhof St. Magdalener Classico 2023
The sustainably-famed Kandlerhof estate has been in the Spornberger family for more than 200 years, run today by 35 year-old Hannes Spornberger and his wife Nicole, and parents Martin and Irene. 70-80 year-old, pergola-trained schiava vines (with c. 5% lagrein) are sustainably farmed on sandy soils derived from volcanic porphyry, yielding a very pretty, light, fragrant, fruity expression, very elegant – a style I like to be sure. Lovely, silky texture, too, ultra refined, so lovely and delicate, juicy, a perfect fresh-ripe, red fruit expression. Tremendous drinkability, ready to enjoy or hold late into the decade. Tasted July 2024.

93 Eberlehof St. Magdalener Classico 2021
The Eberlehof belongs to the Zisser family, and sits in the heart of the Santa Maddalena hill above the village of the same name, facing south, on gravelly, moraine soils. Pergola-trained schiava with about 7% lagrein co-planted are fermented together in aged in old 1500-3000l liter oak cask. 2021 was a lovely vintage, cooler than the mean of the last decade, yielding fragrant, succulent and juicy wines. This has such fine tannins, elegance and great, succulent acids, a real and serious wine, example of what schiava can deliver in a clean and beautifully-crafted style. Drink or hold 2-4 years. Tasted July 2024.

93 Kandlerhof Schloterpöck St. Magdalener Classico 2020
This is the premium bottling of St. Magdalener Classico from Kandlerhof, a cuvée named after a previous owner, Josef Anton Schloterpöck, who became known as “Kandler” (pewterer) in 1777, and for whom the estate is also named. The wine is made from the same parcel each year, a higher elevation vineyard on volcanic porphyry soils with around 5% lagrein, 10% whole bunch included, and aged in small barrels for a year. The 2020 features a ripe, evolving nose, and dense, ripe red fruit paste, sapid and saline, with something special underneath – this is good terroir, with light-handed winemaking that allows the land to speak transparently. Exotic licorice and caraway seed spice joins typical, ripe red fruit flavours. Firm, dusty tannins on the palate; long finish. Quality wine, best from 2025. Tasted July 2024.

91 Katarina Martini Weingut Sonneleiten St. Magdalener Classico 2023
The first bottling from Katarina Martini, a new project, under the Weingut Sonnenleiten name. Martini studied winegrowing both at home in Bolzano and in Austria, seeking to make a fresh, transparent style. This Santa Maddalena Classico is a huge success in my view, a wine of subtle aromatics, though the palate really delivers considerable pleasure with its smooth and silky texture, crunchy acids, and very elegant and refined styling overall. Complexity is relatively moderate, but this is such a lovely wine, pure hedonism, a delicate, moderate red to be chilled and enjoyed over the near term. Tasted July 2024.

90 Griesbauerhof Isarcus St. Magdalener Classico 2022
2022 was a hotter, drier vintage compared to 2023, and coupled with Griesbauerhof’s generally riper style (with up to 40% late harvested, up to a week later, with bunches allowed to desiccate slightly on the vine), and 50% whole bunch from the earlier harvested portion aged in 500 and 700l barrels for 8 months, this is relatively rich and full bodied wine in the Santa Maddalena context, an original style outside of the mean to be sure, singular. Evolving, lightly medicinal flavours dominate the ensemble, with an important amaro-like component. It won’t be for everyone, though I find considerable intrigue here, even if it’s an outlier. I’m told this is a “transitional wine” compared to the wines of current generation Lucas’s father, who used to do 100% late harvest. Who knows where it will go from here in the future, but a story to follow in any case. Tasted July 2024.

90 Malojer Gummerhof St. Magdalener Classico 2023
From vineyards at around 400m elevation on heavier volcanic clays (porphyry), this is a perfumed, gently reductive and peppery example of schiava (a grape that has more of a reductive than oxidative tendency). Acids are sapid and lively, while tannins are light and silky. Red fruit dominates the flavour profile. A perfect Thanksgiving wine. So delicate and lively, saliva inducing, very versatile. Tasted July 2024.

90 Kellerei Bozen Moar St. Magdalener Classico 2019
Moar is the product of old vine schiava 85% and Lagrein 15%, grown on gravelly porphyry soils on the lower part of the St. Magdalener hill by a single grower, a relatively small parcel, 10k bottles max each year, the premium bottling from this high-quality cooperative outfit. The 2019 is quite developed at this stage, offering sweet red fruit with a range of sweet spice in the varietal idiom. The palate, too, shows a sweet-sour tug-of-war with each side vying for dominance, with more medicinal flavours emerging. It seems an ambitious effort, even if not quite at the top of the premium bottlings of St. Magdalener, though effort recognized. Ready to enjoy. Tasted July 2024.

That’s all for this special report, see round the next bottle. 

 John Szabo, MS